The Pink Ladies Volunteer Corps showcased a night of sustainable and eco-conscious fashion at its 45th annual fashion show held at the Grand Cayman Marriott Resort on Sunday night.
Twelve women, including volunteers and Pink Ladies, showed off their best fashion pieces in front of some 180 people. Each donned attire for categories such as Pink, Cocktail, Island Casual, Model’s Choice, and Formal.
While fashion was the theme for the highly anticipated annual fundraiser, organisers this year also provided an opportunity to recognise the group’s founder and long-serving patron, the late Olive Miller, OBE, by starting a petition calling for issuing a series of stamps in her honour.
“When the Pink Ladies would embark upon any new idea, we often first would ask, ‘What would Miss Olive do?’ She was our inspiration and our guiding light,” Faye Lippitt, Pink Ladies co-director, told the Cayman Compass. “To honour her memory, we now find ourselves asking, ‘What should the Pink Ladies do to preserve her memory?’ From this sprang the idea of honouring her with a stamp …
“When she left her home in England more than 70 years ago, the parting words from her father, who was the postmaster in her town, was, ‘Be like a stamp, Olive. When you embark upon something, stick with it’.”
‘Fun-filled fashion show’
The annual fundraiser, which was sold out two weeks before the event, also featured raffle prizes, a silent auction, and a clothing sale, featuring high-end, pre-owned, donated clothes for sale at reduced prices.
“The Pink Ladies were delighted to present another successful, fun-filled fashion show this past weekend,” Lippitt said.
“The event was made possible through a concentrated organising effort from our members, done with persistence and love, which is what the Pink Ladies are known for,” she added.
History of service
With more than seven decades serving the islands, Miller was instrumental in establishing and contributing to several organisations.
She began the Girls’ Brigade in 1946, the then National Council of Voluntary Organisations in 1975, and the Pink Ladies Volunteer Corps with Evelyn Andresen in 1980 under the umbrella of the NCVO. She co-founded and taught at Cayman’s first high school, was the first paid news reporter on our island, the government’s first information officer, and served as a justice of the peace for four years.
Miss Olive, as she was fondly known, formed the idea of starting the Pink Ladies organisation after a visit to Bermuda on Girls’ Brigade business, where one of the officers was a Pink Lady.
Miller, who passed away in May 2020, was listed as one of five Distinguished Women in History in Cayman, and received the Queen’s Certificate and Badge of Honour, the Spirit of Excellence Award, the Golden Apple Lifetime Achievement Award, an OBE and an MBE.
The Pink Ladies are now looking to add to those honours.
“We have now started a petition [for a stamp] in hopes this will come true. Like Miss Olive, we will stick with it until it comes to fruition,” Lippitt said.
Julia Kandiah, who has been with the Pink Ladies since its inception and took up several roles throughout the years, told the Compass, “It has been a wonderful journey of being able to help people. On your own, you can’t really do very much but if you’re with a group of people, you can do a lot of things. We became over the years well known and people respected us, because they know we worked hard, we raised money, and it all went into the community …
“Strangely what I enjoy most out of having been a Pink Lady is not why you go into it –you go into it to help people and work – but you come out having met the most wonderful friends, make great relationships, and it changes your life. You don’t expect that.”
When it comes to the fashion show, Kandiah said, “It’s a lot of ladies coming together and having fun … but it particularly appeals to me because it’s not going out and buying new clothes and filling the landfill, but these are all clothes that have been donated by ladies and you’re helping the environment because you’re buying already used clothes.”
$2 million raised
Jane Moon, Pink Ladies co-director, in remarks at the fashion show, spoke of the organisation’s history of fundraising. “Upwards of $2 million have been raised by Pink Ladies over the years with funds donated to The Pines, NCVO, Lighthouse School, Cancer Society, Special Olympics, Jasmine, the hospital and Health Services Authority, Cayman’s ARK, Cayman Arts Festival, YMCA, Inclusion Cayman, Beacon Farms, National Trust and many other local causes associated with the young and old in our community.”
The Pink Ladies’ efforts over the years have included hosting their annual Christmas Bazaar, organising a bingo afternoon once a month at Jasmine, running a water stop for the Cancer Society Stride, cleaning up on Earth Day, providing birthday lunch at The Pines, helping at the Blue Iguana Conservation’s 35-year celebration, and contributing to the Cayman Crimestoppers Golf Tournament.
“All these activities take us back to the roots of our organisation as a volunteer service in the community,” Moon said. “As many of our ladies agree, it is not only about the money raised but it is also about being part of the community, contributing to the community and enjoying long friendships and camaraderie along the way.”
For anyone interested in signing the petition, click on this link. There is no need to make any payment, as funds are not donated to any cause related to Miss Olive.
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